Cullen: Bruins annihilate Penguins, take 2-0 series lead

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Scott Cullen6/4/2013 12:03:10 AM

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The Pittsburgh Penguins were overwhelmed by the Boston Bruins in Game Two, dropping a 6-1 decision at home Monay night, leaving the Bruins to return home with a two games to none lead in the Eastern Conference Final.

Penguins G Tomas Vokoun was pulled after allowing three goals on 12 shots. The second goal was a bit of a sloppy play around the goal that he might have been able to cover, but the first goal was a breakaway effort by Brad Marchand and the third was a one-timer from the hash marks by David Krejci after the Bruins dangled their way into scoring position with two drop passes on a three-on-two attack.

Marc-Andre Fleury didn't fare any better in net for Pittsburgh, allowing three goals on 17 shots. Had Fleury come in and at least stabilized the Penguins' goaltending situation, it could have prompted a change for the Penguins. As it is, Fleury could still get the start in Game Three, but nothing in his performance from Game Two would suggest that he's the solution to the Penguins' current woes.

No, the goaltending was only a portion of Pittsburgh's problems in Game Two. For example, C Sidney Crosby had a game-high four giveaways while LW James Neal and D Kris Letang were both minus-3.

Bruins LW Brad Marchand scored a pair of goals, was plus-4 and led the Bruins with four shots on goal; all in his playoff-low 14:41 of ice time.

C Patrice Bergeron (1 G, 1 A), RW Jaromir Jagr (2 A) and D Johnny Boychuk (1 G, 1 A) all had a couple points and were plus-3. There had been some speculation prior to the game that Jagr might be a scratch, so good call to keep him in the lineup.

Bruins RW Nathan Horton also had a couple points (1 G, 1 A) and was plus-2. Horton leads the playoffs with a plus-19 rating in 14 games. Bruins C David Krejci added a goal, extending his playoff lead with 20 points.

Through two home games in this series, Crosby, Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Chris Kunitz, James Neal and Pascal Dupuis have combined for zero points and a minus-24 rating. It's cliche to say a team's best player need to be their best players, but the Penguins' stars have to get a whole lot better immediately if Pittsburgh is going to climb out of this 2-0 hole.

It would be too soon for the Bruins to feel comfortable, but heading home with a 2-0 lead against a Penguins team that is rattled and appeared disinterested at times in Game Two, is a far better position than they could have reasonably expected to be coming into the series.